Posted by Pastor Pat on July 28, 2009
“Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another,
because love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8)
I have already stated several times how one of my presuppositions in reading the Bible is, “I do not read the Bible to determine how to live, but rather to discovery what He is like.” Does your perspective matter? I believe so. When my life becomes disjointed and I am consumed by the mundane and distracted by the unimportant I have to step back and get my focus back on Christ (Heb. 12:1, 2). It is only when I see the centrality of Jesus Christ that life in all of its little pieces makes any sense (Col. 1:17). In Jesus Christ we have the perfect display and embodiment of grace. Jesus Christ is the proper name for grace.
It is for this reason I will often use the two words as synonyms.
Often as I read my Bible I put the words, “Jesus Christ” and/or “grace” in the place of “love.” For example in our text before us if we changed the words it would read as follows, “Above all, keep fervent in your grace for one another, because grace covers a multitude of sins.”
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Posted by Pastor Pat on July 14, 2009
Read Mark 8:10-21
In this short study, I would like us to consider the biblical warning to “watch out” and “beware.” The word “watch out” is used three times in Mark’s Gospel (1:44; 8:15, 24). It is only here where it is used with the force of an imperative. Mark uses the word for “beware” fourteen times. It is used with force in Mark 4:24; 12:38; 13:5, 9, 23, and 33.
The words “watch out” or “beware” call for a quick response. They warn us of immediate or impending danger. In the passage before us we are warned of three potential adversaries: hypocrisy in fake questions, hostility in false teachers, and hardness in fat hearts.
All three areas can cause the unaware to be positioned against God. The first danger of hypocrisy is seen in the question asked by the religious establishment. Their questioning attempted to cloak the deception of their hearts. They did not ask to investigate, but to ensnare. Their sole intent was to trap and destroy. They had no desire to hear, examine, and grow through change. Their minds were already made-up and their resolution was already against Him.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on July 10, 2009
Read Mark 8:1-9
I believe it is important to keep our Lord’s movements in mind when reading the various stories. Jesus is in the Decapolis and is speaking to a predominately Gentile audience. It is important to remember the continued conflict with the religious leaders and political authorities. He has come to His own people first and then begins reaching out to the Gentile world. In the world in which Jesus lived, everyone who is non-Jewish is Gentile. Mark shows how Gentiles are included in the story of God. Mark opens this idea with Jesus addressing the Pharisees on the topic of “clean versus unclean.” He then heals a Canaanite woman’s daughter of a demon. He continues His handling of the unclean Gentiles by healing a deaf and mute man. To show equality among the Jews and Gentiles, He repeats His feeding miracles among a predominately Gentile audience. His actions do not negate Jewish primacy. Jesus did not forget that it was to the Jew and through the Jew that God’s revelation and divine incarnation would take place. Such action on His part reflects an impartial worldview. In fact, His actions always reflect a Christian worldview. Often I think as Christians we need to be reminded that a Christian worldview is a Christ worldview. His worldview is to be reflected by and represented in our worldview. It is not the other way around. Sometimes I, we, confuse our nationalism, our patriotism, our tribal instinct, our religious experience for a biblical worldview. What is His worldview? What is a Christian worldview? WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
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Posted by Pastor Pat on July 6, 2009
Read Mark 7:31-37
This narrative continues to celebrate the innate goodness of God. Regardless as to what our thoughts and opinions might be concerning Jesus, they must conclude with the idea that He is good. It is because He is good that what He does is good. It cannot be otherwise. In our present passage, Jesus heals an individual who is both deaf and speechless. His inability to hear contributed to his inability to speak. Regardless as to the condition, it was just cause for our Lord to act and, in acting, to display His power over all disease. In so doing, His status as Messiah continues to be established. In commenting on the grammatical structure of this statement, A.T. Robertson notes how, “The present perfect active shows the settled convictions of these people about Jesus.” Jesus was never charged with doing evil. Everything He did was “good.”
The entire Gospel of Mark seeks to establish the identity of his primary character. He is the one who was foretold and pre-figured. He is God’s Hero King. What Jesus did and why it was done has intentional design. Nothing was random; everything was deliberate. I appreciate the calculated manner in which the following thought explains this idea.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on July 2, 2009
“Even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.”
Read Mark 7:24-30
Mark’s accounting of this story is direct and terse. Matthew provides necessary embellishment that enhances the encounter. Together they form a remarkable story of how our Lord is merciful. Mark places this story in contrast to the interaction with the religious leaders. The Pharisees and Scribes are arguing over whether or not one should eat with unwashed hands, and Jesus ministers to a Gentile woman whose daughter is demon possessed. The disparity could not be more stark. How many times do we “hyperventilate” over the unimportant only to overlook the dying lying at our feet? Although it would appear His actions are insensitive (“He did not answer her a word”) and His words are demeaning (“throw it to the dogs”), what we cannot feel is the look in His eyes and the expression of His face.
The woman was consumed by her grief. Her condition was agitated and her actions were aggressive. Her circumstance removed all protocol and etiquette. Without shame or restraint, she pursued our Lord with her petition. Her daughter, her little daughter was cruelly possessed by a demon. As a Canaanite, an outcast and dog to the Jew, she came and prostrated herself before, “The Son of David.” Her petition was simple, “Lord, help me, have mercy on me.”
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